​Sarah Jane's Blog​Rukia Publishing Book Promotions

The process of combining my various blogs, websites and social media presence has started. For someone like me who went to school in the age of notebook and pen, the IT skill requirements in the writing arena is challenging to say the least. Undeterred, with the help of my husband Nigel and my son Rob (who works in IT) we are collating and making a new entity as part of a long tail future project of mine. Inspired by the amazing support I have received in various author and writer networking arenas over the last six months I have decided that I would like to reciprocate and give something back. The new combined website will be called Rukia publishing and it will initially be home to free services for self published authors to help them gain exposure and advertise their book sales and promotional events. Outside of my writing career I have worked in business, sales and marketing, but even so the world of book sales is a whole new kettle of fish as they say.

More on Rukia Publishing over the coming weeks, but as I pull together the components for the set up I have been reading old posts on my blogs and this caught my eye.

Christmas Eve 2011

In the Saturday Magazine supplement of the Tasmanian Mercury Newspaper, there is a weekly feature detailing ten items from a readers 'bucket list'.

This extract from the feature called 'I would love to' published on Christmas Eve 2011.

Sarah Jane Butfield, 46, relocated to Tasmania after Queensland's floods. Sarah has four children and three step-children. Despite working full-time she is studying for Diplomas in Journalism and Creative Writing.

I would love to -

1. Finish my first novel and have it published.

2. Learn Italian and spend time in Italy experiencing the culture

3. Complete my diplomas

4. Arrange a family dinner with all of our children from the UK & Australia

5. Meet and speak with the Dalai Lama

6. Spend 6 months in Tibet studying Buddhism and meditation

7. Offer my nursing skills as a volunteer in Africa for 6 months

8. To regain a family home

9. Go on a road trip across the US

10. Be a grandmother... in a few years!( this year actually 2014)

The items highlighted in blue I have achieved and I feel very proud of that, only five items to go then I can make a new bucket list!!

I have discovered a few things about myself on this journey to achieve a new direction in my life, and one of the most important is that - 'I can do whatever I put my mind to,' however far out of my comfort zone it may appear to push me. This is inspiring me to step up without fear and say 'I can' instead of 'I'll try' that tiny word 'can' truly does influence your mindset. I have always prided myself on demonstrating a positive attitude to our children in the hope that they would grow into independent, self-assured individuals who would embrace life with all of its imperfections, but enjoy it at the same time. My determination to be successful in my writing career is escalating and I find myself thinking and working on little else, but I love it. I am so grateful for the support of my husband, friends and family who never fail to meet my requests for listening to story ideas, reading interviews, answering questions about issues I am researching, etc.

I believe in dreaming big, working hard to ensure success and having fun. So as we move forward to the next stage of our dreams, goals and ambitions, our daily mantra continues;

'You have to conceive it, and believe it, to ensure you achieve it.'

This remains posted to our dream board as our daily inspiration. As we tick off our achievements the words gain momentum so my advice is ‘Watch this space!!!!’